President Joe Biden is set to deliver a major speech on civil rights and democracy at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin on July 15, the same day the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee, two sources familiar with the engagement told the American-Statesman.
The event, which will commemorate the recent 60th anniversary of Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act, will mark Biden’s first trip to Texas’ capital city since before his election in 2020.
The announcement comes days after U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, became the first congressional Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election, drawing on the example of Johnson’s decision to forgo a reelection campaign in 1968 in his statement.
“Under very different circumstances, (Johnson) made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same,” Doggett said.
A White House official who confirmed the visit to the Statesman did not comment on whether the trip is connected to the GOP convention or to Doggett’s calls for withdrawal, though they noted that the event is an official White House event, not a campaign event. The White House official and the other source did not agree to be named.
Biden continues to be plagued by questions about his capacity to serve four more years in office after an ABC News interview Friday failed to substantially assuage concerns that arose from his disastrous performance at the recent presidential debate with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Continuing a national tour to promote Biden’s record as president, the speech will center the work of his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration on civil rights, per the White House source. He is also expected to address his vision for continuing that work.
More: When Lloyd Doggett called on Biden to stand down, it was one old pro talking to another
The visit will come roughly a decade after then-President Barack Obama and former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter attended the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library to commemorate the Civil Rights Act’s 50th anniversary in 2014.
Following the speech in Austin, Biden will travel to speak at the NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas on July 16 and make remarks at the UnidosUS conference in the same city. UnidosUS is a nonprofit organization that works to “eliminate barriers and create opportunities for” Latinos in the U.S.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: President Biden to speak at LBJ Library in Austin next week
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